Jacques Tilly
Jacques Tilly, born 1963, Moscow. Charges: Article 148 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (Public insult of religious feelings); Article 207.3 part 2 items b, d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); “Jacques Tillie's case of “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces”. Sentence (April 2, 2026): 8 years 6 months' imprisonment in absentia. Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Artists · Anti-war cases
Sentence
8 years 6 months
imprisonment in absentia
No information about an appeal ruling.
Charges
- Article 148 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — Public insult of religious feelings
- Article 207.3 part 2 items b, d, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government agencies, or mercenaries (using an official position, a group of individuals, falsification of evidence, for selfish motives, or out of hatred)
Full wording of the charges
According to SOTAvision, Tilly was charged with insulting the feelings of believers for using figures depicting oral sex between Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill at a carnival in Düsseldorf in February 2024. According to the prosecution, Tilly, having a dislike for the Russian Orthodox Church, which fights LGBT propaganda, entered into a criminal conspiracy with unidentified persons who displayed the installation at the carnival. The reason for the accusation of spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Armed Forces was an interview with Deutsche Welle: "Putin and his fifth column are the heroes of the carnival in Düsseldorf". In it, according to the prosecutor, Tilly spread "false information about Russia committing war crimes on the territory of Ukraine".
Latest event
April 2, 2026 — first-instance verdict
The court delivered a guilty verdict: 8 years 6 months.
Criminal case
Jacques Tillie's case of “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces
- Case number
- 01-0649/2025
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
Resident of Düsseldorf (Germany), designer. Creator of carnival wagons with which he speaks out on topical issues, author of satirical images of Putin. In Moscow, a case was opened against him for spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Armed Forces and insulting the feelings of believers.
Tilly was accused of "fakes" because of his interview with Deutsche Welle: "Putin and his fifth column are the heroes of the carnival in Düsseldorf". He was charged with insulting the feelings of believers for the figures depicting oral sex between Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill used at the Düsseldorf carnival in February 2024.
In December 2025, the case went to trial. On 2 April 2026, Tilly was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in prison.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Germany
Other people prosecuted under Article 148 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.